Colorful self-healing polyelectrolyte nano-film based on Schiff base linkage capable of sensing

摘要

Inspired by the self-healing ability of plants, we have developed a new form of reversible thermochromic colorful film that can self-heal damages and color under the water stimulation, even with a thickness about hundreds of nanometers. Chitosan (CS) and poly (ethylene glycol) functionalized with the dialdehyde groups (DF-PEG) are employed as the components to fabricate the ultrathin colorful self-healing film via spin-coating method. The performance and mechanism of the self-healing property have been studied in this work. Moreover, a sensory array is built by utilizing the optical property of ultrathin colorful self-healing film. According to their reflective responses, the sensory array is capable of discriminating various kinds of divalent metal ions. The research about the ultrathin colorful film combined with self-healing property promises to greatly widen the future applications of colorful materials.